J. J. Rawlings and religious pluralism: A historical analysis of the man and his religious space in Ghana, 1981-2001

Abstract

Jerry John Rawlings came to the national limelight when he attempted a coup in May 1979. On the 4th of June 1979, he was released from prison by some Junior Officers of the Ghana Armed Forces and became the Head of State after a successful coup de ’tat, by the Junior Ranks of the Ghana Armed Forces. After a short stint in what he called house cleaning, J.J. Rawlings handed over power to the People’s National Party led by Dr. Hilla Liman. On the 31st of December 1981, J.J. Rawlings staged another coup to overthrow the government of Dr. Hilla Liman. This coup led to the establishment of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). J.J. Rawlings ruled for 11 years as a military dictator and later 8 years as a civilian democratic leader. This article discusses the Man, J.J. Rawlings and the country's religious situation during 1981-2001. The article historicizes the space that J.J. Rawlings gave to the various religions to operate in the country. It also examines how the three main religions of Ghana, namely, Indigenous African Religion, Christianity and Islam all co-existed and found space in national affairs under him. Our position is that even though J.J. Rawlings introduced the PNDCL221, which to some extent, outlawed some religious denominations on the grounds of not meeting the standards, such intervention largely brought sanity to the religious space in the country. Again, the fact that the three main religions found space in national affairs during the regime of J.J. Rawlings underscored how religious pluralism reached its crescendo in the country from 1982 to 2001.